Students head to class at Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez Learning Center in Boyle Heights on Nov. 5. The new high school was built to relieve Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights of overcrowding. Some Mendez students are not fazed by the shift. They see the move as an opportunity to carve a new identity on the Eastside. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
Victor Avila, 17, shows off his moves to peers at Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez Learning Center. In neighborhoods that have long identified with Roosevelt or Garfield high schools, Mendez students find themselves without a high school legacy that some said is as intertwined with the Eastside’s story as is Mexican American culture. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
The Roosevelt Rough Riders celebrate their 28-16 victory over Garfield on Nov. 6 at East Los Angeles College. Mendez doesn’t have a team. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
The Garfield High drill team performs at halftime Nov. 6 at East Los Angeles College. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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A Roosevelt Rough Riders booster sells programs for the big game against crosstown rival Garfield High. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Garfield fans get into the spirit of the big game. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Roosevelt wide receiver Mann Ayon runs through the Garfield defense in the second half Nov. 6. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Garfield’s mascot takes a breather from beneath a Bulldog costume. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Garfield’s football team breaks through banners before the start of the second half Nov. 6. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
The Roosevelt Rough Riders break through a banner at the start of the second half. The opening of the $106-million Mendez campus was seen as a triumph in a community that until recently had little choice but to enroll students at Roosevelt, a low-performing school that struggled with nearly 5,000 students and a year-round schedule. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
